For the cheesecake filling

Oval in shape, with a pronouced bulge on one end, lemons are one of the most versatile fruits…

1½ tsp lemon juice

3 large eggs, plus 1 yolk

284ml carton soured cream

For the soured cream topping

142ml carton soured cream

1 tbsp golden caster sugar

2 tsp lemon juice

Method

Position an oven shelf in the middle of the oven. Preheat the oven to fan 160C/conventional 180C/gas 4. Line the base of a 23cm springform cake tin with parchment paper. For the crust, melt the butter in a medium pan. Stir in the biscuit crumbs and sugar so the mixture is evenly moistened. Press the mixture into the bottom of the pan and bake for 10 minutes. Cool on a wire rack while preparing the filling.

For the filling, increase the oven temperature to fan 200C/conventional 240C/gas 9. In a table top mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the soft cheese at medium-low speed until creamy, about 2 minutes. With the mixer on low, gradually add the sugar, then the flour and a pinch of salt, scraping down the sides of the bowl and the paddle twice.

Swap the paddle attachment for the whisk. Continue by adding the vanilla, lemon zest and juice. Whisk in the eggs and yolk, one at a time, scraping the bowl and whisk at least twice. Stir the 284ml carton of soured cream until smooth, then measure 200ml/7fl oz (just over 3⁄4 of the carton). Continue on low speed as you add the measured soured cream (reserve the rest). Whisk to blend, but don't over-beat. The batter should be smooth, light and somewhat airy.

Brush the sides of the springform tin with melted butter and put on a baking sheet. Pour in the filling - if there are any lumps, sink them using a knife - the top should be as smooth as possible. Bake for 10 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to fan 90C/conventional 110C/gas 1⁄4 and bake for 25 minutes more. If you gently shake the tin, the filling should have a slight wobble. Turn off the oven and open the oven door for a cheesecake that's creamy in the centre, or leave it closed if you prefer a drier texture. Let cool in the oven for 2 hours. The cheesecake may get a slight crack on top as it cools.

Combine the reserved soured cream with the 142ml carton, the sugar and lemon juice for the topping. Spread over the cheesecake right to the edges. Cover loosely with foil and refrigerate for at least 8 hours or overnight.

Run a round-bladed knife around the sides of the tin to loosen any stuck edges. Unlock the side, slide the cheesecake off the bottom of the tin onto a plate, then slide the parchment paper out from underneath.

Recipe Tip

Mixing the ingredients

The way you blend the ingredients is crucial: under-beating can lead to a lumpy mixture, over-beating can whip in too much air. This can result in uneven cooking, bubbles, and cracking.

Recipe Tip

Keep everything at room temperature

Keep everything at room temperature.
To avoid lumps and ensure even mixing without over-beating, it is essential to have the soft cheese at room temperature before starting. Ideally, let it come to room temperature in its pack for 2 hours. If you're short of time, cut the soft cheese into chunks and leave to soften for 1 hour. It also helps to have a tabletop mixer with a powerful motor. But if you don't have one, a hand-held mixer works fine.

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Comments, questions and tips

I've been using this recipe for years and it's by far the best one taste wise. Yes the cooking time as stated isn't right but I've adapted it to suit my taste and oven. I double the base and cooking time and it's perfect. I don't have a paddle mix so do it all by hand. Warning to be careful with the sour cream. It's 200ml at first not 284ml, instructions are misleading. I did it wrong the first time as I misread it and stirred in 284ml of sour cream. Making another one tomorrow.

astewartmusic

25th Mar, 2017

0.05

Wholly inadequate cooking time, which should be roughly doubled...and base mixture amount (which should be frankly doubled).
As a frequent baker, and subscriber to good food recipes i had utter faith in this recipe as a majority of other recipes are super.
This however is not!!!

beyondrachel

12th Feb, 2017

It's the second time that I use this recipe. I reduced it to 0.6 portion as I just want to buy two boxes of Philadelphia cheese. Success as the first one. Didn't intend to comment but saw the first (latest) comment and think it's really not fair to say that.

drgordonburke

28th Jan, 2017

0.05

Now, I am not a great dessert maker, but this has got to be the worst cheesecake recipe ever. There are a number of problems with it.
The instructions as they are will lead to over whisk it. For example, why put eggs right at the end when you would have whisking the cream for some time.
The cooking time is woefully inadequate- I left it in the oven at 110 for about three times longer than it should have been and it was still wobbling a lot. This is an oven that normally overcooks food of all description.
I then turned off the oven left it in for 2 hours and the chilled it overnight. Aftet this the centre of the cheesecake was pretty much how it was before I placed it!
As many people have mentioned before, some of the instructions are hard to follow.
Baking is an investment in money, time and labour and with this cheesecake I have had a very poor return. I recommend to any one who comes across this recipe to immediately ignore it and go to another website. Very poor result indeed!

nelster

21st Nov, 2016

5.05

This cheesecake is heaven! I first made it for an after dinner treat for the family... And boy was this worth making.
It is time well worth spent, and worth making a day or so before your dinner guests... it is rich, creamy, and tasty on the taste buds, you will NEVER buy a ready made cheesecake ever again, if you do and compare - you will never match the texture, taste or tanginess of the lemon... A true beauty of a recipe! People will come to dinner hoping you've made this for desert?!!

Misha66

20th Nov, 2016

Beautiful cheesecake! The lemon works wonders. I stuck to the recipie when it came to amounts and used a chocolate digestive base. The only confusion I had was about the amount of soured cream from the way the recipie is written but used 284ml for the filling and 142ml for the topping as it says in the ingredient section. I thought that the topping did add extra flavour and I chilled it for nearly 12 hours. It was much loved and enjoyed!!

snowy79

8th Aug, 2016

5.05

This cheesecake is delicious!! I was worried from all the comments that it would go wrong and take me hours to do but actually it was very easy. I have never made a cheesecake before, that alone a baked one. Also it is very easy to convert to gluten free with ready made gluten free digestives for the base. A real hit for anyone who is gluten intolerant as you never see GF cheesecake in the shops!
I had a slightly smaller tin than the one in the recipe so just used two thirds of the topping ingredients which turned out to be the perfect amount.
I used about 200g of gluten free digestives with the 85g of butter in the recipe and no extra sugar for the base. As someone suggested earlier I painted the base with egg white before baking for 10 minutes, this prevented it going soggy.
When I baked the cheesecake I did the same as stated in the recipe, not sure if it mattered but I did not open the oven door when going from 200C down to 90C so the heat was retained and the oven cooled down slower. I also left it in the oven for about 3 hours to cool with the door shut.
I did not bother with the topping as I thought the cheesecake on its own was enough so I am not sure what that would add to it. I also left out the lemon zest and put a little more vanilla in it as I did not want a lemon flavour.
Overall though it was perfect, nicely cooked and no cracks. Everyone was very impressed and it went very quickly! I suspect it will be requested again. The only difficult bit was waiting until the next day to try some!

Pages

I note the recipe says this is freezable. Can it be freezed as soon as it's been baked and cooled? I love this recipe but as there are only 2 of us, it's too large!

goodfoodteam

20th May, 2016

It is best to freeze this once it is fully chilled either in quarters, or individual slices.

Camelia85

2nd Dec, 2015

Hallo, I tried your recipe and followed your instructions, after 8 hours in the fridge, the inside is very very creamy. Is it possible to put it again in the oven so that it dries more?

shinobidef

10th Mar, 2016

I found that it was better after 48 hours in the fridge - much firmer

goodfoodteam

14th Dec, 2015

If it has already gone cold, it probably isn't a good idea to re-bake it, but you could freeze it then serve it semi frozen.

kathleenhelen

12th Nov, 2015

Could you amend the recipe to list 200ml of sour cream stirred until smooth, under filling and then simply state the total amount of sour cream required for the topping?
I had a 500g tub, pour out 280ml, stirred that through then added another 200ml, slowly, with the beater running! I've only just realised my mistake now that I have no cream left for the topping, (which I couldn't understand as I was sure I'd bought he correct amount after reading the ingredients and making my shopping list). Thankfully it looks ok. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it tastes ok and has firmed up in time for our party.

snieee

30th Sep, 2015

if i want to use 6 inch springform, can i ask for the recipes adjusment?

SullyOfficial

28th Aug, 2015

I made this for the first time yesterday but sadly the cheesecake was completely gooey and watery in the center. Completely inedible. As far as I am aware I followed the recipe exactly. Any advice for when I try again next time?

lglondon

19th Jul, 2015

5.05

I've made this a few times, always perfect...this time it went wrong...dropping and soggy in the middle.. Is it because my oven doesn't go down to 9O degrees or because I used low fat sourcream by mistake

Sharon Feng

6th May, 2015

I saw the 3 tbsp flour as 3 teaspoon, and I have cooked it in the oven. Now it is on the cooling step. Hope everything will be fine....

Pages

This recipe is great! I amended the ingredients though. I used 350g biscuits, a 385g tin of sweetened condensed milk instead of sugar, 250ml sour cream (to mix in), avoided the lemon and mixed in all the ingredients together (whisked by hand as I prefer feeling the texture). I baked as follows and the cheesecake was superb - no cracks, moist and just right. I also replaced the topping with a lime curd I had made a couple hours earlier - the sweet and sour really compliment each other without being too overpowering. PS this was my first attempt ever making a cheesecake.
Just a tip I use while baking cakes or cupcakes. If you want a light airy cake substitute butter with oil even if your recipe states butter. If you want a more dense and heavy cake use butter! :)

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